Paradise
by PolkaMusic
Summary: Shane Anderson transfers to Dalton to be closer to his brother. There he meets his own fallen angel, Reed. He thinks he's perfect but little does he know Reed has a dark secret. A secret that keeps them from being together. CP Coulter's Daltonverse. Rane
1. Angel

**So here's the newest angst fic. This being the first chapter, it's not so bad, just setting up the story. **

**You can figure out what's going on though, but just because you can doesn't mean that Shane will. Not yet.**

* * *

><p>The doors to Windsor flew open with a loud bang, not that loud bangs were uncommon in the house, and in strolled a boy with an unruly crop of dark curls and grin so wide it looked painful.<p>

"I'm home!" he called out, emphasizing the last word loudly, resulting in cheers from the surrounding Windsors and the twins releasing what looked like confetti poppers.

And from where he was sitting on the couch with Kurt, Blaine groaned loudly, burying his head into his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Make him go away," he groaned in mock exasperation.

Kurt just laughed, patting his back gently. "Now, now, you have to be somewhat happy he's here. He is your brother after all. Aren't you glad he transferred schools? He probably did it for you." He was actually pretty excited about it. This was the first time he got to meet Shane. He'd heard Blaine talk about him before, and he'd seen the pictures on Blaine corkboard, but that wasn't the same.

Blaine sighed, sitting up straight, "I'm glad I get to see him more of course," he paused, looking at Kurt sweetly, "But you don't know him. Throw him in here with the rest of Windor's madness and it's just a recipe for disaster." He had just finished the last syllable when another loud crash sounded throughout the house, followed by Shane's insistence that he had no idea that vase was breakable. "I told you."

"Don't worry about it," Kurt laughed, prodding the other boy's shoulder, "At least you know he'll fit right in."

"That's the part that worries me."

"What worries you?" Shane asked, dropping down beside his brother on the couch.

"You!" Blaine answered loudly, not bothering to hesitate expressing his concern.

Shane's brow furrowed as he straightened out his brand new, pressed blazer. "And what could I possibly do that would worry you?"

Blaine feigned deep thought, "I don't know, you could make this insane asylum go even further off the deep end."

Shane looked up at him, giving him an innocent expression that Blaine didn't buy for one second. "Oh come on! I'm not that bad!" He suddenly stopped, staring at the other person on the couch with wide eyes before his grin was back. "And you! You must be Kurt, the boyfriend."

Kurt nodded, extending a hand politely. "Correct. And you're Shane, the brother."

"Correct!" Shane slapped his hand roughly, making Kurt wince. "I can already tell I'm going to like you a lot more than I liked Logan."

Kurt looked taken back, but flattered. "Oh well, thank yo –"

He didn't have the chance to finish his statement due to Shane loudly interrupting to ask, "So tell me, have you two consummated the relationship?"

If Kurt had been drinking a beverage at that moment, it would have now been all over his shirt. Why would he ask something like that? "What!" he gasped, shocked that Blaine didn't look surprised at all.

Instead he rolled his eyes, looking almost as though he was expecting this. "Weren't you just trying to convince me you weren't that bad?"

Kurt drew back, still stunned as the brothers continued their conversation easily. Was this how it was going to be whenever he was around? Kurt was beginning to see what Blaine was talking about earlier. Shane clearly didn't care about what consequences his words brought. If it was on his mind, it would soon be out of his mouth. Maybe that wasn't exactly ideal, but at least he was honest with the world.

* * *

><p>A deadly scream tore through the air, disturbing the night's quiet peace. The shout was followed by a swarm of punches, trying (and succeeding) to hit any possible target. And with the punches came never ending kicks.<p>

The screaming boy on the bed leapt up, sending a powerful punch to the nearest object within reach. He knew it hit when another yelp cried out from the impact. Suddenly lights flooded into the previously pitch black room and Shane could see just what he hit.

"Jesus!" David cried, cradling his jaw. "What is it with you Andersons?"

The twins, wearing identical pajamas, were laughing by his side. "At least they put up a fight."

Shane stepped back, surveying the mass of boys in sleepwear that were crowded in his and Blaine's room.

"Am I missing something here?"

Blaine grimaced while Wes took a look at David's already bruising jaw. "This is your initiation," he explained simply, looking tired in black pajamas and ruffled hair.

Shane looked even more confused. "My what?"

"It's your welcome to Windsor!" the twins loudly declared, waving their arms in celebration.

Shane looked them over skeptically. "This is how you welcome people to your house? You attack them in the middle of the night? What is this? Fight club?"

"You weren't supposed to fight back," David grumbled.

"And what was I supposed to do! Let you beat the crap out of me?"

"We weren't going to hurt you, stupid." Blaine said, sighing. "We were kidnapping you. We do it to all newcomers. We pretend to kidnap them, then bring them down to a bonfire for their welcome party."

"Oh." Shane blinked dumbly. "So this happened when they tried it on you, too?" he guessed, piecing together what David first said after understanding.

Blaine shrugged, glancing away, "I fought back, too."

"He hit me in the head with a lacrosse stick." David informed, still looking a little cross.

Shane couldn't help it when he started laughing, earning another glare from David. "Sorry about that." He pointed to David's red jaw, "I honestly thought you were going to kill me."

"Yeah well the night's still young." Half of David's mouth was beginning to turn up. "At least you didn't give me a concussion."

Shane turned his wide eyes to Blaine, who was wearing another grimace looking guilty. "You gave him a concussion!"

Blaine chose not to answer, grabbing Shane's arm and pulling him out the door, the rest of the Windsor's following. "Come on before everybody comes searching for us."

By the time they got to the landing, Blaine was ready to throw his brother into the fire. He simply would not stop laughing about what happened when Blaine was initiated.

"You had to have the party in the medical clinic!" he exclaimed before his voice was taken by another fit of giggles.

"Keep it up and that's where you'll be spending your first week of school." He mumbled, making Shane laugh even harder. He heard a small giggle beside him and turned to see Kurt walking beside him. He smiled at him, not feeling irritated at his annoying brother anymore.

They had just reached the flock of Windsors standing around the fire when he heard Shane's voice. "Oh gosh, stop eye banging him and do it for real."

Well that didn't last long.

He promptly turned back around, slapping him over the head.

"Shut up, Shane!"

"Hey!" Shane rubbed his sore head while David snickered behind him, quietly saying something that sounded similar to how Shane deserved it. Shane had just started a snide retort when he stopped talking completely.

Blaine's eyebrows pulled together as he noticed his abrupt stop. "What is it?" He followed Shane's gaze to the fire, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

Shane thought his brother was obviously blind if he couldn't see what he did. Right beside the fire there stood what was sure to have been a real life fallen angel. He stared at him, completely unmoving, trying to figure out how he was down here on Earth when Blaine finally shoved him, literally, out of his stupor.

"What is wrong with you?" Blaine asked while the rest of the conspirators watched with amused curiosity.

Shane was lost in another trace, staring at the boy who was glowing in the firelight, his already slightly red hair burning from the intensity of the flames, making him look truly stunning.

"Shane!"

"Whoisthat," Shane whispered quickly, completely still.

Blaine turned his confused expression towards the fire once more. "Who is who?"

The twins stepped forward, grinning wildly. "I think perhaps," Evan began.

"He has spotted our little Dormouse," Ethan finished as both of their grins faded into a smirk.

Blaine looked back, "Reed? The one with the silky pajamas?" he asked Shane who nodded. He was definitely the one.

"Reed," he repeated, rolling the name over his tongue. He liked it. It fit him perfectly.

Despite his wide grin, Kurt turned pale. "You like Reed?"

"He's perfect," Shane mumbled in answer. This caused the twins to laugh, cheering, and Kurt's smile to widen. Blaine, however, groaned.

"Shane," he tried but was soon cut off.

"Who is he? What is he like?"

Shane was staring at him expectantly and with such an eager look it made Blaine frown.

"Listen Shane, I think you should-"

The twins rushed forward, grabbing one of Shane's arms each and pulling him forward. "He's adorable right? Well his name is Reed."

"He likes to paint."

"He's really good at it, too."

"He's good at all things artistic as a matter of fact."

"He's the clumsiest person on the planet."

"But he's also one of the most fashionable. That's why he and Kurt are best friends."

"They're also roommates."

Shane was starting to feel worried as they got closer and close to the boy they were discussing.

"But I don't know a thing about any of those things." Fashion? And Shane? Yeah right. He dressed as though he just picked up the first thing he saw and threw it on… which is actually exactly what he did. He looked down at his pajamas. An old shirt with a couple of holes dotted around the hem and baggy black pants. He looked nothing like Reed did, dressed in light blue silk that looked expensive and delicate.

"Don't worry," Evan reassured, but it hardly sounded comforting. Shane could still hear the mischief in his tone.

"That won't matter," Ethan continued before they both spoke, pushing him forward roughly. "Go get him!"

Even though he was usually extremely coordinated, the nervousness had him tripping over his feet after the twins launched him towards the smaller boy who he crashed into, nearly knocking over.

A high pitched squeal was heard but before he could fall to the ground, Shane had him in his arms, blushing furiously and cursing the twins, who he could still hear snickering, a thousand times over in his head.

"I'm sorry!" he immediately gasped, steadying the smaller boy and stepping back to give him a respectable distance. "It was them!" he pointed to the still smirking twins.

Reed, who had been shocked by the sudden collision, was also blushing a deep shade of red. As soon as he saw who Shane was pointing at, he smiled and Shane was relieved that he seemed to understand.

"Oh," he started talking and Shane was floored, staring at him amazed. "They can be quite troublesome. Trust me I know."

His smile made Shane smile back just as brightly. "Yeah," he couldn't help his light weighted voice, "So I've noticed."

Reed giggled and Shane stopped breathing. He really was an angel.

There was silence until Reed asked, "So you're Blaine's brother? Sorry I wasn't around today. I had two art projects that needed to be finished. The twins must have pushed you over here so I could finally meet you."

"Yeah…" Shane drew the word out. He was perfectly aware of how his terrible his lying skills were. "That's why."

Reed didn't seem to notice anything was wrong though, he just smiled easily, looking like perfection personified.

"Well it's great to finally meet you," Reed extended a hand that Shane stared at blankly for a short moment before finally taking it. He was about to return the sentiment when he was silenced by the softness of Reed's warm hand, fitting so perfectly in his. "Blaine has talked about you a lot."

That brought Shane back to reality. If Blaine said even one embarrassing thing about him to this angel he was going to have a dead brother on his hands.

"Really?" he asked, trying to hide his nerves. "And what has he said?"

Reed shrugged lightly. "Oh you know just that you –" he didn't get to finish because right at that moment a small cry took the place of his words.

Shane jumped back in alarm. "What's wrong!"

Reed's face was marked with pain and he held his right hand in his left, eyes closed. They reopened when he spoke. "Nothing," he backed away from the fire. "I just got burned is all."

"Are you alright?" Shane asked, feeling severely worried. "Does it hurt?"

Staring at his feet, Reed answered in a quiet voice. "Not too badly. I'm used to getting hurt." He bit his lip before quickly adding in a slightly panicked voice, "I'm accident prone." He opened his hand, revealing a red pinky.

Shane smiled a little, relieved that it wasn't too serious. "I heard about that. The twins called you quote, 'the clumsiest person on the planet.'"

Reed scoffed, "They would."

"Come on," Shane said, reaching for his good hand, "We should put something on that."

Once they reached the conspirators, who were not being discreet about eavesdropping, they were stopped by a Blaine who looked apprehensive.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked nervously, and Shane had no idea why.

"Yes…" he answered as though it was most obvious thing in the world. "We can't leave it untreated."

Reed smiled softly, looking a little nervous himself, at the others as they passed.

The Tweedles immediately turned to Blaine with raised eyebrows. "What's wrong with you?"

Blaine frowned again, "You guys do realize Reed has a boyfriend right?"

"So?" they both huffed.

He looked at them with disapproval. "So I don't want my brother getting his heart broken again."

That silenced them.

"Sorry Blaine," Ethan started. "But we don't really like him. We like Shane a lot better."

"Yeah," Evan agreed, "Maybe he'll leave him and get with your brother."

Kurt smiled fondly from beside the still frowning Blaine. "That would be cute."

"Why don't you like Chase?" Wes asked past a mouth full of food.

"We just don't," they answered simultaneously. "Something is off about him. And we don't like it."

"I agree," Dwight piped up, speaking for the first time that evening.

"And why is that?" Wes asked curiously.

"Because," Dwight looked anxious, like he was sure they wouldn't believe him. "His aura is totally –" Groans cut him off.

"Dwight!" David said loudly, "You can't choose to not like somebody because of their _aura."_

"And why not!" Dwight cried indignantly, "How can you not notice!" Wes and David walked away, Dwight following them and continuing to argue. The twins were laughing as they chased after them.

Blaine shook his head, not noticing Kurt was watching him carefully. "And you?" he asked causing Blaine to look his way.

"And I what?"

"Would you mind if Shane and Reed got together?" Kurt clarified.

Blaine shrugged loosely. "I guess not. I just don't see it happening and I don't want Shane to get hurt from it."

"Why don't you see it happening?"

"Well," Blaine paused to think, "Reed has a boyfriend. A boyfriend he's been with for a while now. A boyfriend who he likes to be with and is good to him." He didn't have any doubts that this was true. If he wasn't Reed wouldn't want to spend so much time with him. "Right?"

Kurt smiled a genuine smile. "Right. But it could still happen."

* * *

><p>The house was dark and quiet when Reed and Shane entered, everyone else was at the bonfire. Shane walked to common room and flipped on one switch to illuminate the room enough to see. He turned back to Reed, grinning.<p>

"So do you have a first aid kit anywhere?"

Reed laughed, and Shane couldn't stop the dreary sigh he made when he did. "Yeah, we have about ten. You haven't really grasped what happens around Windsor, have you?"

"I'm beginning to," Shane said, opening the closet Reed was pointing to and retrieving the only medical looking box. "Take a seat," he said putting the box down on the same table by the door Reed climbed onto, holding out his injured hand.

"Do you know what happened to Charlie?" Reed asked while Shane searched through the medicine, trying to find something to use on a burn.

"Who's Charlie again?" he asked, laying bottles on the table and adding, "Roll up your sleeve."

Reed did so, pulling the cloth up half way up his wrist. "The house prefect. He just got back from the hospital a couple of days ago," Reed explained as Shane started applying the medicine.

Shane flashed him his legendary grin. "Do I even want to know why he was there?"

Reed made that adorable giggle again, the one the stopped Shane's heart. "The twins accidently paintballed him down a couple flights of stairs."

Shane's mouth fell open. "Damn. Poor guy."

"They didn't do it on purpose of course." Reed said, watching Shane wrap a white bandage on his finger. "But things like this always have a way of happening to us Windsors. Which reminds me." He grinned. "You're one of us now."

Shane smiled crookedly. "I guess I am."

After he secured the bandage, Reed brought something small out of his pocket. "Thanks for the help." He smiled a smile that Shane happily returned. "Now I have something for you."

An eyebrow was quirked as Shane stared at him a little surprised. "Really? What?" He couldn't imagine what Reed could give him. Besides love. But that was too cheesy, and Shane wasn't going to go there, especially not since they just met.

Reed stayed silent, reaching forward to clip a blue pin with a single golden ray that he recognized as the Windsor symbol on his shirt. As he did this, his already hiked up sleeve fell down even more, revealing the skin up to his elbow. Shane gasped, grabbing Reed's hand and pulling it away, looking at his arm closely. There was a big mark of purple right on his forearm, a big bruise that looked recent and painful.

"What happened?" his voice displayed the shock written on his face as he twisted Reed's arm to look at back, finding that it too was bruised.

Reed struggled to pull his arm back weakly. "Nothing." He insisted, sounding oddly calm, "I told you I'm clumsy, remember?"

"How did you do this to yourself?" Shane was still surprised by the size and color.

Reed's eyes locked on the ground. "How am I supposed to remember? I get hurt a lot."

"Yeah but –"

"I'm really clumsy!" Reed laughed, smiling a smile that looked a little too tight to be real. But Shane didn't notice anything abnormal. He was caught up in the sound of Reed's laugh.

Shane laughed back, returning Reed's arm which was immediately covered back up by his sleeve.

"Well you should be more careful," Shane smiled at Reed who tried his best to smile back.

He really wasn't succeeding though so he jumped off the table, heading towards the door. "Are you coming? You're missing your party you know."

Shane grinned, running after him eagerly.

* * *

><p>As soon as they returned to the bonfire, Kurt pulled Reed aside, taking him away while the others zoned in on Shane.<p>

"How'd it go?" the twins demanded to know, standing directly in front of him.

"Uh," he looked over every single pair of eyes that was trained on him. "Good I guess?"

"Just good?" one of the twins inquired though Shane had no idea which.

He immediately started defending himself. "It's not like it was a date! I was just fixing his burn!"

"And…" David drew out, sensing there was more.

"And…" Shane paused, watching all the faces that stared at him. He finally sighed, looking defeated. "I am so in love with him."

Cheers mixed in with groans but Shane wasn't sure who made what sound. He was positive Blaine was groaning though, and it was affirmed when he stopped and said, "Shane. We have to talk."

He rolled his eyes. Did Blaine always have to drag him off his high? "About what?"

"About Reed. Shane, Reed has a –"

"A very controlling mother!" the twins interrupted, smiling innocent smiles that didn't look innocent at all.

Shane's eyebrow was raised. "So?"

"He has a controlling mother who likes to control his life." This time Evan spoke alone.

Shane stared at him blankly. "Well duh. I figured that out on my own."

Ethan continued, ignoring Shane's remark. "She likes to control everything. His work, his clothes, his friends, and that also includes –"

"Who he dates," Blaine finished, frowning at Shane sadly.

Shane bit his lip. "So? I'll have to get his crazy mother's approval. Big deal, I think I can do that."

"Shane," Blaine's frown was still intact, making Shane start to feel nervous. "She already has approved. But not of you." Shane stared at him confused, not understanding what he was trying to relay to him. Blaine sighed again. "Reed already has a boyfriend."

Shane's heart dropped and his breathing ceased. "He…" he finally spoke after a long stretch of silence. "Has… boyfriend?"

Blaine's lips were pursed. "Sorry Shane."

The twins spoke up, looking hopeful. "If it's any consolation, we like you better."

That didn't really help at all. Sure he was glad he had his brother's friends' approval, but that guy still had the one thing he wanted more than that, more than anything. He glanced up, spotting Reed standing with Kurt a couple yards away. He was laughing. Shane heart clenched at the sight. He was suddenly imagining him laughing and talking to the lucky son of a bitch who got to call him his. Jealousy was soon flooding over him, mixing in with the hurt and disappointment.

"What's his name?" he asked, turning back to the others. Before they got the chance to answer, he was speaking again, faster. "What's his name? What's he like? Is he cute? What's his name? Just tell me his name, all I want to know is his name."

"Okay, okay, calm down." Blaine put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll tell you but you have to promise not to try to find this guy and break them up."

"I wouldn't do that," Shane scoffed, looking offended. Blaine merely gave him a pointed look causing him to huff and mutter, "Maybe…"

"His name is Chase." Blaine began, but before he could get any further, the twins interrupted again.

"He's pretty tall, a little taller than you I would wager."

"He's got soft, caramel colored hair," Ethan added.

Even was quick to clarify. "Not that we've touched it, it just looks that way."

"He's pretty rich. His mom is friends with Reed's."

"And can be kind of snobby to fit the stereotype."

"He's not really openly mean to us, but we can tell he doesn't like us that much."

"And by that we mean all of Reed's friends. Not just us."

"But he's a Stuart you see. Windsors and Stuarts are destined to not get along."

"So we let it his obvious resentment of us slid."

"Because he's good to Reed and that's all that matters."

That settled it then. All through the twin's explanation Shane had been going back and forth, watching whichever one was speaking, and it was starting to feel like watching a ping pong match. He was also beginning to hope that if this Chase was a jerk to his friends, Reed wouldn't want anything to do with him for much longer. But then they said it. He was good to Reed. And that was all that mattered.

"How long have they been dating?" Shane found himself asking, hoping for least, preparing for the worst.

"About four months," Blaine answered solemnly.

Ouch.

Shane sighed, looking at ground and pouting. "And this guy takes care of him? He loves him?" He knew the answer but that didn't stop him from asking.

"Yes."

Shane sighed again, kicking a rock on the dirt. He knew the right thing to do was let Reed be happy, and apparently he already was.

"Then I'll back off and find a way to be content with just being friends. There's nothing that forbids us from being friends right?"

* * *

><p>"So…" Kurt started, smirking a couple minutes after he pulled Reed away from the others.<p>

Reed blinked at him in confusion. "So what?"

"Do you like him?" Kurt asked, still looking too smug and Reed didn't know why.

"Yeah. Of course. He's really nice."

Kurt sighed, resisting the urge to roll eyes. "That's it?"

Reed blinked again, eyes wide and startled. "…Yes. Why?"

Kurt shook his head, disbelieving. "Reed. He has obviously been bit by the love bug. Hard. He saw you and the first thing he said about you was that you were perfect."

Reed was now rapidly turning different shades of red. "N-no he didn't."

"Yes. He did."

Hands that were shaking slightly pushed a strand of hair behind his ear as he looked to the ground. "He was probably just being nice," he mumbled, not sounding entirely convinced. "I'm sure he doesn't like me." He whispered the next part so quietly Kurt barely heard him over the noisy party. "Or at least I hope he doesn't. Chase wouldn't like that very much."

Kurt stiffened, rolling his eyes since Reed was still staring at the ground and couldn't see him. "Really Reed, I don't see why you let him tell you who can and can't hang out with."

Eyes still locked on his feet he replied a weak, "He doesn't."

Kurt groaned in annoyance. "Yes he does, Reed! Why don't you tell him to let you be around who you want?" That's most certainly what Kurt would have done. He would never be with someone who thought he was their property, so to speak.

Reed rubbed a now healed scar on his bicep absently. "I have."

"And he still won't let you?" At Reed's shake of the head he was growling. He had to take a deep breath. He didn't want a repeat of what happened last time, what happens every time, someone pointed out something that wasn't so desirable about Reed's boyfriend. Reed would throw a fit, storm out, and not speak to them for days, staying by Chase's side the majority of them. "I'm not saying he's a bad boyfriend. But I just don't think it's right that he gets to choose your friends."

Reed's eyes narrowed and Kurt braced himself. "He doesn't." He didn't sound nearly as harsh as Kurt was expecting. "As you can see I'm still hanging out with you, aren't I?"

Kurt sighed in defeat. "I guess so. Just don't let him boss you around okay? Stand up for yourself."

Reed's eyes shifted back to the ground. He said nothing else.

* * *

><p>Going back to sleep after that party, which he spent half of moping around and whining, was almost impossible. He was lying face first on his bed, not crying, he hadn't known Reed long enough for that, but definitely feeling like he could.<p>

"Come on now," Blaine said encouragingly from the other side of the room. "It's not that bad. It's not like he's married to the guy."

"No," Shane agreed, moving to his side. "He's only been dating him for, what was it now, four months. Nothing serious."

"Sarcasm is not going to help."

"And besides!" Shane cried, "Apparently he's some refined rich boy who's in good graces with his mother. He's probably artistic, and very fashion savvy, probably suave. I am none of those things."

Blaine wasn't going to argue with that. Shane wasn't exactly the most sophisticated of people… or put together. "So? Who says you need to be?"

"I can't compete with him," he moaned miserably.

"You don't need to! If you want to be with Reed then _you _have to be with him. As yourself."

"What if myself isn't good enough?" he spoke from underneath a pillow.

"It seemed to be enough tonight," Blaine pointed out. "I'm pretty sure he appreciated what you did and is already considering you a friend."

Sighing, Shane threw the pillow off. "I guess." He stopped speaking, playing with his covers. "So when do I get to meet Mr. Perfect?"

Blaine, satisfied that Shane's freak out had been quelled for now, relaxed back onto his pillows, "Tomorrow morning probably. He always comes over to walk Reed to class."

_How chivalrous, _Shane thought bitterly.

Blaine continued speaking, oblivious to all the jealousy bottling up in his brother who lay a couple feet away. "He usually spends almost the entire day with him, so while we see him some, we only really see him when he's back in Windsor."

"Great." Shane didn't mean to sound so heated, but he couldn't help it. This guy seemed too perfect.

He was everything Shane wasn't. In every single way.

* * *

><p>"Wake up!"<p>

A couple minutes later.

"Get up!"

A couple more minutes.

"Dammit Shane wake up!"

A pillow was thumped on the side of the sleeping boy's head roughly, making Shane jolt up in surprise.

"What the hell!"

"Get up!" Blaine threw the pillow back on his brother's head and returned to his side of the room. Shane sat up, looking blearily around the room. He noticed Blaine's hair was perfectly gelled and he was buttoning up his blazer. "What time is it?"

"Time to go to school."

Shane groaned, crashing back onto the bed. Whose bright idea was it to throw a party for the newcomer the night before they had to get up at seven a.m. for classes? "I'm too tired."

Blaine barely batted an eyelash. "That's what you get for staying up half the night whining about Reed's boyfriend." And with that Shane was groaning again.

"Thanks, I forgot about that."

"Well don't forget that this is your first day. Which means catching up. Which means work. So pay attention in class today. Dalton isn't Walcott. You have to keep grades up."

"Yeah, yeah," Shane mumbled, burying himself under blankets. "I get it, mom."

Blaine rolled his eyes, stalking over to his brother and pulling covers off in one fluid motion. "You better get a move on. If you don't you won't get to see Mr. Perfect, remember? Reed gets up a lot earlier than this."

Shane was suddenly wide awake. He forgot about that. Mr. Perfect. Let's see just how perfect he was.

* * *

><p>Shane was down the stairs in no time. Granted, his hair was messier than ever and his tie was undone and he was still pulling on his socks and shoes, but he still managed to get to the common room right as Reed descended the stairs, looking beautiful as ever. He also looked prim and proper, whereas Shane looked, to put it kindly, a mess.<p>

His mind went blank for all of three seconds before he hastily pulled on his shoes, struggling to straighten out his clothes and appear half way decent.

"H-hi!" He said, jumping forward suddenly and giving Reed a start.

His eyes widened slightly before he composed himself and smiled sweetly. "Hi Shane. I hope your first day isn't too stressful."

Shane shifted nervously. "Is that a common occurrence?"

Reed grimaced cutely before answering, "I think so, yes. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine."

Shane laughed a short humorless laugh. "I hope so."

There wasn't another chance to speak for they were soon interrupted by a voice emanating from behind Shane.

"Hey Reed."

Shane didn't turn around. He didn't like the sound of his voice already. It was too tranquil, too relaxed to be that deep. He could see the way Reed's eyes lit up when he looked past him and to the owner of the voice and it made him feel like disappearing.

"Hi," Reed replied, glancing down bashfully and blushing.

Great. Even after four months he was still acting giddy when he saw this guy. Every passing second was making Shane feel worse.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Reed ran forward, shooting Shane one last, fleeting smile before walking past him. Shane figured it was now or never, and closed his eyes, preparing himself for what he might see when he turned around.

The first thing he noticed was his hair, the exact color the twins had said, it was well tailored and the longest parts came down to his ears. It could very well rival Julian Larson's legendary locks. The second thing he noticed was height. He looked only a couple inches taller than Shane was, but it was still very noticeable. The third thing he noticed was his face. His stomach tightened and he gulped. He _was_ good looking. Broad jaw; high cheekbones; nice, full looking lips.

Well. He was fucked.

The last thing he noticed were the eyes. His eyes were such a dark brown they could be mistaken for black. And when he turned his nearly black eyes on him, Shane almost jumped back. There was something present in his gaze that he couldn't place.

He looked him over, making Shane's blood feel cold, for all of five seconds before he turned away, leading Reed out of the building. Shane could faintly hear him ask Reed who he was as they left.

He stood for a moment, too stunned to move. He wasn't sure how to describe the way Chase looked at him, but he did know one thing. He didn't like it.


	2. Reminisce

**Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. I love you guys so much.**

* * *

><p>The rest of the day left Shane feeling uneasy and tense. He hadn't been able to get Chase's eyes out of his head. And it didn't help that Reed was year older than him, and therefore not in any of his classes. It sucked, but at least he could see him at lunch.<p>

His hope was shut down when he arrived, sitting down with the rest of the conspirators. He ignored Wes and David loudly arguing with the twins, who were not being proved wrong without a fight. And he _tried_ to ignore Kurt and Blaine, shamelessly flirting and threatening to send his lunch heaving back up. Dwight had his nose buried in a book that had no words on the cover, only strange looking symbols. Shane figured it was best not to ask about that one. But where was Reed?

"Uh…" He was hesitant to disturb anyone's… activities. "Where's Reed?"

Kurt was the one who answered, turning away from Blaine long enough to do so, "With Chase. He usually is, unless Chase wants to be alone with his Stuart friends." He said this as though it was totally normal. But to Shane, it didn't seem that way.

"So what… this is normal for them? He makes Reed stay with him until he wants to be alone and then just tells him to get lost?" Shane knew he was dramatically paraphrasing but he didn't care.

"Pretty much." Kurt said, rolling his eyes. Shane could tell Kurt was just as annoyed by this as he was. "Chase says jump and Reed doesn't even bother with the 'how high' he just does it."

Shane pushed his food away, no longer feeling very hungry. This whole day was nothing more than one disappointment after another. And with absolutely no Reed since this morning.

And with that thought Shane was remembering this morning, the nearly black eyes.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" he spoke quietly, feeling nervous once more.

"Is it about Reed?" Blaine asked, playing with his food, bored.

Shane didn't even dignify that with an answer. "What's Chase like?"

That surprised him. Blaine stared, a little startled. "Didn't we tell you about him last night?"

"But that's not what I'm talking about. I mean what about his personality. What's he like?"

The twins stopped their conversation, looking at him with expressions Shane wasn't quite sure of, but scared him just a little. "Why do you want to know?" As soon as the question was asked identical smirks spread across their faces and Shane could now tell that the previous look meant mischief.

He sighed, deciding to just be honest. "This morning, when I saw him for the first time, his eyes were like… black." He suppressed a shudder. "He looked at me like he wanted to kill me or something."

He was surprised to see everyone shrug it off, as though they were used to it.

"That's Chase," Blaine said simply, offering no other explanation.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Evan leaned in close to Shane to whisper in a voice that wasn't quiet at all. "That's his way of telling you he doesn't like you."

Ethan leaned in as well, "He doesn't tell you with his mouth, you see. He tells you with his eyes."

"Like we said last night," Evan continued, "He won't openly say it, but you can tell."

Shane blinked. "But I haven't even really met him. He doesn't know me, how does he hate me?"

Kurt looked just as unfazed as Blaine did. "You were talking to Reed. That's why he doesn't like you."

Mouth open, Shane had to shake his head for a moment, trying to process this. "Wait, so he just automatically hates everyone who has anything to do with Reed? Is that why Reed isn't here with us right now?"

Kurt's shoulders shrugged lightly, repeating, "Pretty much."

"But doesn't that seem kind of…" he struggled to find the right word. "Unfair. Inappropriate? Like he's trying to control him?" Wasn't that one of those things those Lifetime movies talked about?

Wes looked back to his food, "He's probably just protective."

"This is where we disagree," Kurt said, more to Shane than anybody else so Shane could automatically tell they were all on different sides of the fence about this, they all had their own opinions. "I think like you do. I think it's messed up that he tells Reed what to do."

"Then why don't you try to change that?"

Kurt sighed, "Believe me I have. I think we all have at least once."

They stopped talking there, leaving Shane looking expectant. "And? What happened?"

Looking thoughtful, Kurt leaned back. "Well, Reed agreed with us at first. But then when he tried to confront Chase about it he suddenly became kind of… I don't know… withdrawn? He stopped talking to us for the longest time and stayed with Chase. And that's what happens every time we bring up Chase's flaws. So we've just stopped trying. It's better to have him in our lives only sometimes than not to have him at all."

"But if he's mean to you then why does Reed still like him?"

"Well," Evan began slowly, "He's never actually blatantly mean to us, just unfriendly. And he's not like that with Reed."

Right. Shane forgot about that part. Even if he wasn't particularly nice to his friends, he was good to Reed. Shane looked to the table, defeated. Even if he had unfair tendencies, if he treated Reed well Shane couldn't argue with that.

* * *

><p>"I don't see what the problem is," Reed let out a small huff that sent the hair in front of his face flying. "Why can't we just go say hello. Just for a second. It's Shane's first day after all."<p>

"Who's Shane?" Chase asked, looking bored. He was hardly paying attention to what Reed was saying at all.

They were standing near the entrance of the cafeteria, not completely in the room. "You remember, from this morning. He's Blaine's brother."

Chase didn't even look up from his cell phone. "Who's Blaine?"

Reed stared at his boyfriend incredulously. "Blaine. You know Blaine. A little on the short side, black curly hair."

"Ah," he nodded with recollection, "The hobbit who abuses hair gel."

"Hey," Reed defended softly, hesitantly. "Blaine is nice, please don't make fun of him."

Chase snorted, saying nothing else. He really didn't care enough to comment. That was until Reed said, "So can we at least go see how his day is going so far?"

He finally looked up, pocketing his phone and sneer replaced by a harsh glare that Reed instantly cowered under. "I said no." His voice was perfectly identical to his expression and Reed shrank back even further.

"Sorry," Reed whispered, letting his eyes fall back to where his group of unusual friends sat. He could tell from here that Shane looked troubled and wasn't eating, and he couldn't help but wonder why.

Chase followed his gaze closely, eyes narrowing when he saw where Reed was looking, who he was staring at. It happened so fast Reed barely had time to prepare for it. A cruel tug on his curls brought a frenzy of pain and he cried out as Chase pulled him into a deserted corridor by his hair. He was still whimpering when they stopped, and he was roughly shoved forward. He stood there shaking, facing his boyfriend who he could tell he had upset somehow.

"Reed," Chase started slowly, sounding angrier than before and Reed instantly looked at the ground, avoiding his fiery gaze. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Reed's head jerked up quickly. "Do you like this guy? Is that why you're so interested in talking to him?"

"No! No, I was just –" A sharp punch to his cheek stopped his words completely. He whimpered in pain again, unintentionally drawing himself back.

He knew Chase was really mad now. He hadn't gone for his face in a while, usually preferring somewhere that could be easily hid ever since Kurt threw a big fit over a recent black eye Reed had mysteriously acquired. Even though he never really out front accused Chase, he started being more careful about damaging Reed's "beautiful face" as he called it.

Reed tried not to cry, he had gotten use to holding in it and being quiet, but that didn't stop it from hurting all the same.

"Don't lie to me." Chase's voice had not calmed, and apparently neither had he. He grabbed Reed's upper arm tightly, making Reed wince and squeeze his eyes shut. "If I ever see you associating yourself with him, I can promise you will be sorry. Do you understand?"

His grip tightened, eliciting another cry from Reed. "Yes! I won't, I promise! Just please let go!"

He did, releasing his arm by throwing him up against the wall and walking by, pulling his phone back out as if nothing happened. Reed stood there, leaning weakly against the wall, wiping the tears away from his eyes with shaking hands. He tried to ignore the pain that was radiating from his back, arm, and most of all, face. He really hoped it wouldn't bruise, it had always been a hassle covering those up and trying to explain them. It was the only time he was ever grateful for his clumsiness. But judging by the force and the intensity of the pain, he would soon have another reason to use Kurt's makeup.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew this wasn't how love was supposed to be. But he probably couldn't get any better. Besides, Chase wasn't always like this, so who's to say he always would be? And it would be selfish of him to leave just because things weren't looking so good. Reed knew every time Chase was forced to hurt him was because of something he had done wrong. It was his fault. If he didn't always do something wrong then Chase wouldn't have to resort to hitting him.

He could remember where it all began.

_They were Chase's private room, arguing. They had only been together for a couple of weeks, but arguing was rapidly becoming a frequent thing, even if it was over things Reed thought were silly. He soon learned that Chase took things a lot more seriously that he did, and got a lot angrier over them, too._

"_So you were flirting with him," Chase growled, not even bothering to use a tone of question. He already knew the answer. He saw them._

"_No I wasn't," Reed looked away, rolling his eyes. "He just asked me a question. This was Derek for god sakes." He liked Derek, but there was no way in hell._

"_Exactly. Derek Seigerson. The most notorious slut in all of Dalton. Of course he'd want to flirt with you!"_

"_But I wouldn't want to flirt with him!" He knew Chase didn't like it when he yelled back, but he couldn't help it. "Derek's not even gay!"_

_Something changed in Chase's eyes that made Reed want to step down. "I don't give a fuck what he is, don't flirt with him." _

_Reed sighed dramatically. "I wasn't!" Before he got the chance to say anything more, Chase drew his hand back, using all the rage he was feeling to slap Reed forcefully, making him cry out. He stumbled back, hand on his sore cheek and mouth open. He stared at Chase's angry face, utterly stunned._

"_You…" he finally stuttered, not sure what to say. His bottom lip quivered, and he tried hard to fight the tears off. "You can't hit me!"_

_Chase sneered, "You're not a girl. I can hit you all I want." He emphasized this by pulling his hand back again, this time balling it into a fist and sending it straight to Reed's stomach. Reed fell backwards, crashing into the wall and to the floor, gasping and struggling to breathe. The pain of this blow caused the tears to start falling. Chase hovered over him, entirely unmerciful. "I'm strong and you're not. How are you going to stop me?" _

"_I…" He couldn't think of anything to say, he was still too shocked. And scared. Chase had gotten mad at him before but he'd never actually _hit _him._

_Chase had a fist full of his hair before Reed could continue. "You what!" His grip was tight and he pulled hard, causing Reed to cry louder._

"_I'm sorry!" His hands flew up to his head, trying to lessen the pain. _

_Chase pulled harder. "Are you going to flirt with him again?"_

_Reed was sobbing openly now, but managed to shout, "No! I won't, I promise!"_

_Seeming satisfied, Chase let go, but not before slamming Reed's head against the wall. His head erupted in pain, and he couldn't hold back the loud yelp that was followed by more sobs._

"_If you talk to him again you're going to regret it."_

_Reed nodded, not daring to look up. He couldn't believe what just happened, but the pain was real, and it was the reminder that everything that just happened was, too._

"_And those Windsors," Chase didn't go on, but Reed could tell by his tone that what he was thinking wasn't pleasant._

_Reed sniffed, and he tried his best to speak with a trembling voice. "They- they're just my friends. I swear I'd never f-flirt with them, and they wouldn't with me." He hoped to god Chase believed him, not only because it was truth, but he didn't want to get hurt anymore. It hurt to breathe and his head was still throbbing._

_He kept his eyes trained on the floor, but he didn't need to see Chase's face to feel the glare he was giving him. "You better hope for your sake that you're right. You don't want to know what will happen if that changes."_

_Reed gulped, too afraid to say anything else. He remembered how the twins shamelessly hit on him when he first moved to Windsor and prayed that they never did again._

_He jumped when Chase started shouting, "Are you listening to me!"_

"_Y-yes!" He flinched, preparing to be struck._

_He wasn't. Chase only said a short, "Good," before heading to the door, leaving Reed alone to shake and cry on the floor. _

He hoped that if he was good enough, and listened to everything Chase said, he wouldn't be hurt again. But there was always something, something he didn't do or did wrong, something that made Chase mad, something that called for punishment.

He might have hoped it wouldn't happen again, but it was far from the last time. He always seemed to mess something up, like nothing he did was good enough.

And Chase had been right. He was a boy. And no one cared if you hit boys. He had every right to do it, but Reed still somehow knew he had to keep it a secret, even if Chase was allowed to hurt him, he kept it from everyone, knowing they'd make a big deal out of nothing. If Chase wanted to do something to him, he couldn't stop him, and the last thing he wanted was his friends trying to.

That would be disastrous.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Chase, who was half way down the hall now, shouting, "Let's go!"

Collecting himself, he ran to catch up, trying not to think about the fact that he was following the same person that was responsible for the throbbing on his face and back.

* * *

><p>His last class was finally over, and even though Shane was glad that part of the day was done, he was still incapable of feeling any sort of excitement thanks to the conversation he had at lunch. He couldn't believe Reed was so attached to someone who wasn't even that nice, even if he was nice to him.<p>

He found himself bitterly comparing all of the known attributes about Chase to ones that related to himself. He for one, would never tell Reed who he could hang out with, or keep him from his friends. He also would never be straight out cold to any of them. He wouldn't be mean to anyone he knew meant a lot to Reed, and he didn't understand how anyone who claimed they cared about him would. His hostile thoughts soon turned into neurotic revelations that he would be _so much better_ at what Chase was supposed to be doing: loving Reed. But after dwelling on it for half the day he remembered it wasn't his place to judge their relationship, only support what Reed wanted and that obviously wasn't him. He just had to be Reed's friend. That was good enough… Wasn't it?

He shrugged through the doors to Windsor later than everyone else due to his slow walking in which he stared at the ground, thinking unpleasant thoughts about the boy he'd only seen once. Now that he was back he had to deal with mounds of homework the first day at a new school brought. This day had started off bad and only went down from there.

All his books were piled onto one of the kitchens counters. He figured he could get more done being the only one in the kitchen than he could in the noisy common room or the dorm he shared with his brother who was doing homework with Kurt and would undoubtedly be making lovesick googley eyes at him which Shane didn't particularly care to see.

He was staring blankly at one of the papers that made absolutely no sense when his peace was disturbed by a door opening and someone walking in. He could hear the muffled sound of mayhem from beyond the door but didn't look up until he heard whoever it was that entered speak.

"Oh," there was a short stall. "Hi Shane."

He'd recognize that voice anywhere, even if it was only the second time he got to hear it that day.

"Reed!" he jumped up, knocking one of the books he was holding down to the ground. But he didn't care about that the second he saw Reed's face. "What happened to you?"

He walked over, placing a gentle hand on the swollen patch on Reed's cheekbone that was beginning to color.

Reed instinctively flinched away from the touch, Chase's earlier words ringing in his ears.

_If I ever see you associating yourself with him, I can promise you will be sorry._

Worry and fear started flurrying through his stomach. What if Chase found out he was talking to Shane. _I can promise you will be sorry. _He didn't have single doubt that that was true.

"That's going to be a shiner," Shane commented, completely oblivious to the terror Reed was feeling just being near him. He was trying hard not to show it. He didn't want Shane to get offended. "How'd you manage this one?"

Finally he dropped his hand and Reed was able to somewhat relax long enough to think of an excuse. "I… I tried to open the door but ended up hitting myself in the face with it." He was glad that he just met Shane, he had already used that excuse too much with everyone else.

Shane smiled easily, thinking this sounded entirely plausible. He had no way of knowing just how far from the truth that was.

"Be more careful next time, okay?"

Reed tried to smile, nodding as he looked down at his feet nervously. He knew he shouldn't be scared of Shane, and he wasn't. He was scared of being near him, of what might happen because of that.

He snapped out of his thoughts from Shane watching him expectantly and asking, "You okay?"

Reed shook his head, trying to get over it. "Yeah. Yeah I'll be more careful."

Shane backed up, returning to his seat. "Good," he was still smiling at Reed completely carefree. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt would we?"

Reed gulped, nodding weakly. He felt guilty and wasn't even sure why. He decided to change the subject. He couldn't think about this right now.

Gesturing to the tower of books and paper, he asked, "So is this all your catch up work?"

Shane groaned, turning back to face it all. "Yes. Thanks for reminding me."

Reed found himself smiling despite the fear he still felt from being there. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Hopefully," Shane mumbled, picking up the discarded book on the floor. He faced Reed again once he was upright. "This might sound odd, but can you help me out?" At Reed's surprised stare he quickly explained. "What I mean is you've been through transferring here _and _being in my grade. So that means you're older and wiser, even if you are shorter."

Reed glared playfully. "I should say no just for that."

Shane's carefree smile was back. "I'm sorry. That was rude. What I meant to say was you're smarter than me and older than me and I would very much appreciate your help, oh wise one. Also you are not short."

Reed laughed and all fear instantly disappeared. Being with Shane was easy, and he felt strangely happy, even if he would be forever paranoid that Chase would somehow find out and terrified by the consequences of that happening.

But there was no way Chase could find out if the only time he was around Shane was in Windsor right? After all, Shane's room was directly across the hall from his, he was bound to see him a lot. Even if that theory was completely logical he knew Chase would never see it that way. He would blame him for instigating communication with Shane and he knew he would _be sorry._

Reed knew if he was caught he would be. So he had to rely on the fact that Chase would never find out, not as long as the only time he saw Shane was in his own dorm house. Chase never came to Windsor except to escort Reed somewhere anyway.

"Okay," he finally answered, feeling comfortable about being around Shane even if there was the underlying fear. He could ignore it though.

He just hoped he wouldn't regret this.


	3. Hippie

**Thank you for putting up with my slowness. I love you.**

* * *

><p>Shane stood in front of the mirror, turning his head in contemplation. He didn't think he looked that bad. But it wasn't what he thought that mattered. It was what Reed thought.<p>

_No, stupid! Shut up! You shouldn't be worried about what Reed thinks. He. Has. A boyfriend!_

Maybe if he gelled his hair like Blaine did, not to the same extent though, hell no, he'd look cleaner cut. Maybe even more attractive. And this damn blazer did nothing for his muscles. He wondered if Reed even liked muscles…

_No, dammit! You're doing it again!_

He slammed the palm of his hand to his face, frustrated. He never cared what he looked like before, why should he start now?

_Because Reed looks like a perfect angel and you look like a slob._

He sighed, dropping his hand and straightening his uniform out, turning every which way to look his reflection over. Maybe a straightener would help. And a haircut. Something simple, layered.

_You mean like Chase's?_

"Shut up, thoughts!" He screamed at the mirror, annoyed with how accurate his conscience was being this morning.

Blaine rolled his eyes from the doorway to their shared bathroom, where he'd been standing, quietly observing for a few short minutes. "Shane," he said, stepping in. "Seek help." He was honestly surprised to see Shane up and dressed so early. That was more surprising than the modeling and talking to himself.

"Ha ha ha," Shane remarked sarcastically. "Do you think you could do me a favor?"

Blaine eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of favor?"

"You can easily get into Kurt's room correct? And into his bathroom?"

* * *

><p>Almost an hour later, Shane was regretting his decision deeply. He was sitting in the common room, waiting for Reed's decent down the stairs. He'd barely been there five minutes and he'd already heard jokes from Wes, David, and both the twins. Blaine, the first one Shane presented himself to, hadn't said a word, merely staring at him expressionlessly before walking away without comment.<p>

He chewed on his lip, watching the stairs nervously. Hopefully Reed wouldn't be too critical.

The second he saw him, bounding down the stairs happily and only tripping slightly, Shane had a bright smile on his face. Reed was truly perfect.

"Hey!" he called, standing up, only slightly disheartened by the now prominent bruise on his cheek he could tell Reed tried to cover up.

Reed skidded to a stop once he was on the landing, staring at the boy in front of him with shock in his wide eyes.

"What did you do to your hair!" A grin broke out on his face as he stepped forward slowly, reaching a tentative hand up to Shane's head. His usually messy curls weren't so curly today. They had a wave towards the end, but quite straight from the top to middle. He decided against the cutting. There was no way he'd ever be able to cut someone's hair, let alone his own.

"I straightened it." He shrugged, smiling at Reed's reaction.

"You look like a hippie from the 70's!" Reed giggled, touching the wavy part.

"Well damn," Shane mockingly cursed, kicking the floor. "That's not exactly the sophisticated look I was going for."

Reed laughed at him, dropping his hand. "What in the world made you do this for in the first place?"

Shane stared at him blankly. "Oh um, you know. Just wanted a change." Damn, he was a terrible liar.

"Well, come on," Reed grabbed his hand and Shane stopped breathing. "I have a ton of hair care products for my curls, I'll help you sort this mess out." A loud beeping made Reed let go, digging into his pocket for the source of the sound instead. Shane watched as Reed's face fell and he couldn't help but think he looked panicked and just a little scared.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. And he didn't miss how Reed immediately stepped back and away from him.

Reed was staring at his phone, his stomach twisting with fear. It was a text message from Chase.

_**Almost there.**_

How could he forget Chase always walked him to class? And he couldn't be found with Shane. He didn't want to know what would happen if he was.

"On second thought," Reed stammered, staring up at Shane with wide eyes he was sure he saw fright in. "Kurt knows about this stuff just as much as I do. Just go to him. He's still in our room, he'll know what to do."

Shane would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. He had just got use to the idea of Reed trying to fix his hair, of _Reed's_ fingers through _his _hair (and that was _not _creepy thank you very much) and now it was going to be Kurt, who would probably judge him harder than Blaine did.

Reed smiled at him weakly before rushing out the door, leaving him standing there feeling oddly upset, not to mention curious about Reed's abrupt departure. Did he do something to make Reed want to get away from him?

Just as he was about to trudge up the stairs he heard a loud gasp, followed by a voice crying, "Oh my god!"

It looked like he didn't need to find Kurt, Kurt found him.

* * *

><p>Reed was moving so fast, he tumbled out the door, just barely catching himself before he hit the ground. He looked up to see Chase standing there smiling at him. Not a genuine smile. No, it never was. This smile suggested he was amused by Reed's lack of coordination. At least it was better than the malicious one he sometimes wore.<p>

Reed thanked his lucky stars that he made it out the door just one second before Chase would enter and see him talking to Shane.

Chase laughed, rolling his eyes and turning around, beginning to head towards the direction of the school and expecting Reed to follow.

Trying to collect himself, Reed scrambled up and followed after. His nerves were still on fire, and for some reason he knew it was because of Shane. If Chase found out… But then again if Chase found out _after _Reed had lied to him… That would be worse.

He fidgeted, twisting his hands together nervously. Chase noticed his anxious habits, stopping and turned to look down at him.

"Why are you acting so finicky? You know how annoying I find that," he rolled his eyes again, this time looking irritated and Reed instantly dropped his hands.

"Sorry. I just," He caught himself before he started to shuffle nervously again. "I kind of have to tell you something."

Chase's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Reed didn't want know what he was thinking in that moment. Especially when he asked a harsh, "What?"

"Um well," Reed stared at his feet, forcing himself to stay still. "Remember yesterday when you told me not to be around Shane?" He kept his gaze down so he couldn't see the way Chase was glaring at him, but he knew he was. He didn't need to see it to feel it.

And he could hear it in his voice when Chase said, "And were you?"

"N-no." Reed stuttered, hoping Chase didn't catch the lie. He wasn't a very gifted liar. "I just- I thought you should know that being around him is kind of unavoidable." He was whispering but he knew Chase could hear him.

"And why is that?" He could hear the anger in his words and it made Reed wish he just would have kept his mouth shut.

"Because he's rooming with his brother, and that happens to be right across the hall from mine and Kurt's room," He took a shaking breath. "So I kind of see him a lot."

Reed peeked up just in time to see Chase roll his eyes in aggravation. "I kind of figured you'd _see _him what with him being one of your ridiculous friend's brothers. I meant don't talk or flirt with him, idiot. Jesus, don't be so stupid."

Reed eyes fell back on his shoes and he whispered, "Sorry."

Chase only scoffed, starting to walk away again. "About that though. I still don't like the fact you share a room with the gayest guy I've ever seen in my life."

Reed walked beside him quietly, saying a soft reply to this. "But Kurt is with Blaine. He's only ever been with him and they love each other."

"So? He still sleeps three feet away from you. You know I have a single room," He grinned a smile down at Reed that didn't look entirely of good intent. "Which means if you were to transfer to Stuart it would be incredibly easy for you to stay with me."

Reed's eyes widened only slightly before he caught himself. He didn't want Chase to think he hated this idea… which he didn't really. He just didn't like it. At all. He was already with Chase a lot as it was. He didn't want to be apart from his friends even more. "But I uh," He swallowed nervously, "I like Windsor. I don't think I could handle the stress of Stuart…"

Chase laughed, and like always, it sounded more condescending than anything else. "You're probably right. You're not exactly equipped to handle difficult situations. And with the academic competition in that house, you probably wouldn't last a day."

Reed pursed his lips, but forced them into a tight smile when Chase looked down at him again. "You're right," he admitted, ducking his head down once more.

"I know," Chase said arrogantly, "Now hurry up. I hate having to wait for you and your short midget legs."

Reed frowned, running to catch up.

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

Reed stopped dead in his tracks at the word, staring at the arm that was in his way in surprise. He blinked up at the person attached, finding Shane standing there, half way smirking at him with amusement in his eyes. He was leaning against the wall Reed was walking next to, effectively blocking his path.

"How's it going?" he gave his hair a not at all subtle pat that made Reed laugh. His hair had more curls, more waves, but was still different from his usual mess. It was also somewhat pushed back, making him look like a movie star. Hippie turned star.

"Well you look different. It's better," he said, grinning.

Shane smiled as he shrugged, looking as though he already knew this. "What can I say, Kurt is pretty good with hair."

Reed nodded, "Trust me, I know." He reached up to brush a stray behind Shane's ear, completely missing how Shane froze up and blushed when he did. "You look good."

Still blushing, Shane smirked lightly. "Well, you'd know all about looking good, wouldn't you?"

He froze as soon as the words left his mouth. Reed stared at him with the widest eyes he'd ever seen on him, face bright red.

_What. Did. You. Just. Say._

His face started changing colors too, and he had to quickly stammer out, "I-I mean, because you're an artist and all and that is kind of what you do, and you're very fashionable, you know a lot about fashion and what looks good and –"

He stopped rambling when Reed giggled, interrupting, "No. I get it. I know what you're saying." And that made sense. It's not like he was remembering what Kurt had told him a couple days ago.

_He saw you and the first thing he said about you was that you were perfect._

No, that wasn't it at all. Nope.

His red face said otherwise.

Thankfully Shane interrupted his embarrassing thoughts, "So what are you doing here alone? Not eating with Chase today?"

They were walking now, heading towards the entrance of cafe. Reed shifted his eyes to the ground, watching his feet as he walked.

"Nope. Not today. He's with his friends."

Shane had to restrain himself from doing a happy dance. He didn't need Reed thinking he was insane. "Oh, that's too bad." No it wasn't.

Reed smiled sadly, "Yeah."

"Well at least you get to hang out with us today." Shane ran forward, turning around to face Reed and doing a goofy little dance. Reed laughed and rolled his eyes. "This is what you're missing out on when you're with him at lunch. Just remember that."

He laughed again as they arrived, heading in the direction for food. "I'll keep that in mind."

They had barely been eating for ten minutes, laughing at the twins being idiotic and Wes and David arguing with Dwight, when Shane's stomach dropped. He had hardly taken his eyes off Reed the whole time, and when he did the first thing he saw was Chase making a beeline for their table.

_Fuck._

Shane resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. Why did he have to show up and mess everything up?

"Reed," he called as he got closer to the table, "Are you almost done?"

Reed's eyes lit up and Shane had to pretend very hard that he didn't notice.

"Oh, um," he was mumbling, bordering speechless. "I guess so."

Chase looked him over, quickly surveying the situation. Reed couldn't stop the gripping feeling of fear that tightened his stomach when he realized Chase could very easily focus of the fact he was sitting very close to Shane, directly across from him. But he seemed not to notice, instead drawing his attention to the large amount of food that still remained on Reed's plate.

"It doesn't seem like it. It looks like you've barely eaten anything." He pointed out, voice seemingly lacking emotion.

Shane didn't try to stop the bitter thought that crossed his mind. _Well no duh Einstein, it's only been ten minutes._

He was staring at his own food, trying to ignore what was happening around him, but failing very miserably. He found himself hanging onto every word that was exchanged.

"But I'm not that hungry anyways," Reed tried to protest but Chase shook his head and, Shane was horrified to see, sat down next to him.

"No, it's okay, I can wait."

Reed smiled at him with appreciation, turning back and finishing his food silently. Chase was silent too as everyone went back to their normal conversations, and Shane soon realized his silence wasn't because he was waiting, but because he was watching Reed. From where Shane sat it was impossible to see his expression, but he could imagine what it looked like judging by Reed's blush when he looked up at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he whispered and if Shane hadn't been foolishly eavesdropping he would have missed it.

He wished he would have missed Chase's answer. "Because you're adorable."

Shane thought he might have actually preferred watching Kurt and Blaine make those sickening, lovey eyes at each other if it meant he didn't have to hear this. But one look in their direction and he was looking at his untouched food again. Maybe being blind to everything was better. And deaf, he decided as Reed made an adorable giggle in response to what Chase said.

There was nowhere to look except down, and that was fine. But there was no way to turn his ears off. _ Kill me now._

Singing a song very loudly in his mind turned out to be ineffective as well, because he heard it clearly when Chase said, "So, I was thinking we could spend the rest of the day doing something fun together. But the only thing is, we'd have to skip the rest of class and sneak off campus. If you're up to it."

Despite himself, Shane strained his ears to hear Reed's answer. But the next thing he heard was laughter that could only belong to the twins.

"Reed? Skip class? Off campus?" He wasn't sure which of them had spoken but they were both laughing again.

He spared a peek up just in time to see Reed scolding at them. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Kurt answered, rolling his eyes good naturedly. "Oh please Reed, your criminal record is about as long as Dora the Explorer's."

Reed glared and Shane had to choke down a chuckle. He didn't look very threatening, like an angry kitten.

"Well then," he turned back to Chase. "It just so happens that I'm in."

Chase's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Really. Where are we going?" Reed asked as he stood up, taking his tray to dispose of on the way out. He held out his hand and the second Chase took it Shane had his eyes glued to the table again.

The last thing he heard before they disappeared out of the room was Chase saying, "Anywhere you want."

Once he was certain they were gone, Shane crashed face forward on the table, just missing his food by inches.

The twins looked over sympathetically, and one was patting his back. "Now, now Little Bat, don't be so distraught."

"Yeah," the other agreed, "We could easily devise a plan to split them up, if that's what you want."

Shane groaned, forcing himself to sit back up. "Of course that's not what I want. I just," he flailed, trying to find the right words. "I want Chase … to disappear."

The twins stared him down with serious expressions. "That can be arranged."

"What, no! I just, I want," he sighed, picking at his nails, something he'd never done before. He whispered the last part. "I want him to be happy."

The twins smiled at him sadly but it was Blaine who spoke, quietly, regrettably. "He seems like he already is."

Shane wanted to vanish into the air. "I've noticed."

* * *

><p>It was hard to breathe. Stuffing your face in a pillow didn't exactly allow for easy air flow. But Shane had been doing this more often since he met Reed. A dangerous way to sulk. But he didn't really care.<p>

After speeding through his homework, this is what he did, laid face down on his bed, alone in the room. Blaine was still with Kurt, when weren't they together, and he didn't really want to think about where Reed was.

He groaned with the thought.

Just then the door opened and Shane wasn't surprised to hear Blaine scolding him. "Really Shane? You're going to lay here in self pity instead of doing something productive?"

"Leave me alone to die," Shane mumbled through the pillow.

Blaine sighed, rolling his eyes. "What about dancing? That always cheers you up. Want to give that a shot?"

"Not really."

Blaine crossed the room, moving to the stereo to turn on the radio. He realized this was a bad idea when the worst possible song came blasting out.

_You should let me love you, let me be the one to give you everything you want and need. Baby good love and protection, make me your selection. Show you the way love's supposed to be. Baby you should let me love you._

Shane was sitting up now, glaring so hard a smaller part of Blaine's mind feared for his life.

"I fucking hate you so much right now."

"I'm sorry!" Blaine scrambled to change the channel. But he winced again the second he did. What was this? Unrequited love day?

Shane was still glaring, but at least the intensity was down a level. "I hate your radio."

"Crap, I'm sorry."

Blaine made to change the dial again, this time to off, when Shane's voice stopped him. "No wait, I like this song."

Blaine should have known. Shane always did have a thing for Taylor Swift.

At least for now it seemed the sulking was over as Shane was jumping up and down on the bed, screaming along to the lyrics. Blaine tried to ignore him, turning to his side of the room, but something like this was hard to tune out, especially when Shane was putting his own twist to the words.

"I guess he's pretty smart and I'm kinda dumb, but he's a fucking jerk and I'm fucking awesome! Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find, that what you're looking for has been here the whole time!"

"Wow, Shane," Blaine commented casually, not even watching him anymore. "You want some cheese with that whine?"

"Hm yes." Shane stopped jumping, falling down on his bed with a thump. "I'll have that and you can have the nice, tall glass of Shut the Fuck Up."

Blaine sighed, turning to face his brother again. He was serious now, the lightheartedness of his voice was gone. "Why can't you just accept that Reed is with Chase?" He sounded concerned.

Shane's eyes fell to the floor, he pursed his lips, trying to come up with a suitable answer. Why couldn't he accept it? The answer was suddenly so obvious he had no problem with saying it.

"Because it hurts. I've never felt this way about anybody else. I don't even think I felt like this with Micah."

Blaine frowned. "But Shane, you've only known him for three days."

"I know! It's insane. But I really, _really _like him. I might even –"

"Don't!" Blaine cut him off, holding up a hand. "Don't say love. You've known him for _three _days, Shane."

"Are you telling me you don't believe in love at first sight? How did you feel when you first saw Kurt?"

Blaine was silent for a minute, staring into space, a trace of a smile of his lips. Finally he spoke, "Judging by the way you looked when you first saw Reed, I'd say you already know how I felt."

Shane grinned. Good answer. "And what would you have done if you found out he had a little bitch for a boyfriend?"

Blaine laughed, rolling his eyes in amusement. He finally admitted, "I'd probably be sulking around like you are now."

Shane raised his eyebrows in gratification. "Thank you." He fell back on the bed, but this time he didn't bury his face. He supposed he had Blaine to thank for cheering him up. But he ignored it when Blaine laughed at him again.

But maybe he had a point. Maybe he should try to accept it, suck it up, and move on. Maybe he should let him go.

Maybe Reed was happier without him.

* * *

><p>Reed really liked days like this. Days where they had fun and everything was comfortable and easy. Days where he didn't feel like he had to walk on egg shells. He liked to call them safe days. But they were becoming rarer and rarer, so he learned to savor them.<p>

Now it was sometime into the evening and Reed was sitting on Chase's bed while his boyfriend did homework at his desk. He was concentrating on it the second they got back, collecting his makeup work and intent on making up for lost time. He didn't complain though, which surprised Reed. But he really didn't mind being ignored for homework. Stuarts will be Stuarts.

He had finished his work not too long ago and was just watching Chase silently, all the while thinking things over.

"I had a lot of fun today," he said, breaking the silence.

Chase didn't look up. "Good. Me too."

Reed smiled. Safe days. They usually came after something particularly bad happened, and Reed had suspicions that the bruise on his cheek had something to do with it. But he tried not to think about that.

"Wish we could do them more often." It was out his mouth before he could stop it, and his head snapped up, carefully watching Chase's reaction.

He was relieved when he nodded. "So do I."

He swallowed nervously, knowing he was about to tread dangerous water. But if there was ever a time to ask the question that had been haunting him for weeks, it was now, when Chase was being like this.

"If you like it when we're like this then…" Reed knew he shouldn't. He should just shut up right now and leave it alone. But he had to know why. He couldn't ignore it anymore. It was getting harder to pretend. He inhaled, summoning courage he didn't know he had. "Then why do you hurt me?"

Chase's head shot up but he didn't look angry, only surprised. "What?"

He gulped again, whispering. "Why… do you hurt me?"

Now he looked angry. His eyes narrowed and his voice hardened. "I don't want to, you make me."

"But…" Reed dropped his gaze. He could feel Chase's anger surge when he started protesting. "But I don't _want _you to…" There was silence, so he forced himself to continue. "I don't like it when you do."

He heard Chase drop his pencil loudly, but that was all. He remained sitting. His voice was soon heard from that side of the room, meaning he wasn't going to react as bad as Reed expected. "Well, I got news for you, _sweetheart,_" His words were patronizing, cruel. There was nothing _sweet_ about it. "No one cares."

The words tugged on Reed's heart but could easily ignore it. After a tentative glance up, Reed was whispering again, eyes locked back on his hands. He was sure he was close to crossing the line. "But you should." It was so quiet he was surprised Chase heard it at all. "You're not supposed to do that sort of thing to someone you love."

Chase laughed once, a short sneer. "I never said I loved you."

Reed drew in a jagged breath, biting his lips and blinking his eyes.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry._

In spite of everything, and he didn't regret saying one word, Chase felt that maybe he should say something else. He stood up, standing in front of Reed and forcing his face up, making him look in his eyes.

"Hey. Who was the one who wanted you when no one else did?"

His eyes bore down and Reed knew he would have to answer. "…You."

"Right. And guess what. No one else will. I might not love you, but I sure as hell do more than anyone else does. Even your own mother. How many times has she tried to contact you this year?" Reed stayed silent. He couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. Chase was right. "And how many times has someone asked you out, or even shown any interest in you?" Never. Not until him. "Exactly. I'm all you have. So you better start fucking appreciating it."

Reed's eyes were wet again and he had to chant the mantra over again.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry._

He knew every word Chase said was true. He was unlovable. But somehow, no matter how small the amount, Chase managed to do it. And he should appreciate it.

He swallowed away the lump in his throat. Voice cracking, "I'm sorry."

Chase ignored the apology. He still had Reed's face in his hand as he turned it to get a better look at the bruise on his cheek. "And next time, cover this better. I don't want to see it."

Reed couldn't stop it. It was out before he realized what he said. "But you did it."

Yep, he definitely crossed the line.

Chase's hand left Reed's face in favor for his hair, tugging hard and forcing his head back. "What?"

"You're hurting me again!" Reed cried without thinking.

"And why am I doing that?" Chase jerked his hand up, pulling roughly before letting go. "Because you don't know when to shut your damn mouth." To emphasize this, a punch was sent to Reed's lips, not as tough as it could have been, but tough enough to split the lower one open. "So I guess now you have your answer. I hurt you because you're a fucking idiot." He stepped away, scoffing down at the boy who was beginning to cry, touching his lip in shock. "You're pretty but you're stupid."

He turned back to his desk, determined to finally finish the rest of his work. He quickly glanced back, taking in the blood that was starting to drip down Reed's face.

"How will you explain that?"

Reed choked on his words, he was hardly aware he'd been asked a question. The shock was numbing him. The hit had come out of nowhere but the pain was real. It was his fault though. Chase was right. He should have just shut up. He was an idiot.

"I…" he had to swallow again, trying to find his voice. "I bit my lip too hard."

Chase was sitting down again, focused on his homework and not even looking at him anymore. "And will they buy that?"

"Yes." Reed answered automatically. They always did. They always would.

Reed didn't blame them, he actually preferred it this way. Besides, it was easier to accept a story of Reed's clumsiness which he had proved to be true time and time again than to dig deeper into something no one else even suspected.

And what was to suspect? Everything was fine, Reed tried to tell himself as he wiped the last of his tears away.

Everything was fine.


	4. Contest

"I'm impressed," Blaine commented as he sat down beside Kurt at lunch, addressing his statement to Shane. "You didn't get up early to rush down the stairs to greet Reed this morning."

Shane stared at his food, grunting an unintelligent response. It was true. Why would he? Reed would only leave with Chase two minutes later. So what was the point?

"Oh no!" one of the twins exclaimed dramatically. "Little Bat! Don't tell us you've given up on the Dormouse!"

Another grunt and now it was the other twin yelling. "Unacceptable!"

Shane resisted the urge to groan.

"You can't just give up!" Ethan grabbed Shane's head, forcing him to look up.

"Yeah!" Evan agreed, "Show him that you love him!"

"Sweep him off his feet!"

"Make him forget all about Chase!"

"I'm not going to do that," Shane murmured but despite his low volume, everyone heard. They were all equally surprised. "He's not going to "forget about Chase." It's not that easy." He sighed, rolling his eyes and looking away. "He loves Chase. And I am obviously not him."

"No! You're not!" Evan cried. "That's the point! You're better!"

"Yeah!"

This wasn't helping at all. If he was so much better than why hadn't he seen Reed since this time yesterday? Why did Reed show absolutely no interest in being his friend, never mind boyfriend? He wanted to tell them all that, but what good would that do?

Instead he muttered a quiet, "Thanks."

"I agree," a high pitched voice spoke up, making Shane look to him. Kurt was staring at him intently, completely unwavering when he continued, "Don't you dare give up so easily. I would rather see my best friend end up with you than that jerk he's with now. So you're going to sit up," Shane immediately did so, startled by how stern Kurt sounded. "Stop moping around. And at least be friendly to him. At least if you do that, he might come around. But you're not going to just give up. Because if you do," He leaned across the table, staring Shane down and making him draw back. "I will kill you."

"O-okay."

"Glad we understand each other." Kurt sat back down, continuing to eat as though nothing had ever happened.

Everyone else nodded silently, returning to their food as well, leaving Shane sitting there frozen, wondering what in the world just happened.

* * *

><p><p>

Shane didn't see Reed until he was walking back to Windsor once the day was done. Carrying what was in his opinion too many books, he was starting to wonder if the transfer was worth another night of catch up work. Thinking about Blaine and yes, even still unavailable Reed made him conclude that it most definitely was, even if it meant having to watch Reed be in love with someone else. And wow, is this what it felt like to have a heart attack?

A sigh escaped his lips only a second before he spotted curly hair he knew all too well by now.

"Reed?"

Reed stopped walking, and Shane thought he looked like he was flinching, but when he turned and smiled at him the thought left his mind. Reed's smile was so cute. But there was something wrong with it today.

"What happened to your lip?" He stepped closer to examine it. His lower lip was split right near the corner of his mouth, red and sore looking.

"Nothing," Reed's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he lightly touched his lip, as if he forgot it was even hurt. "I just bit it too hard."

Half of Shane's mouth turned up. "Eating what? Bricks?"

In spite of Reed's adorable giggle he made to this, Shane's stomach felt weird, uneasy like something was wrong. He had no idea what though, but he did know it was hard to believe that Reed had bit his lip hard enough to split it open, all the way down into his skin. Who bites their entire lip anyways? But Shane thought that if anyone could, Reed would be the person to do it. Besides Reed wouldn't lie to him, would he? He would have no reason to.

After thinking this over, trying to figure out what the feeling meant, he settled on thinking that he just didn't like seeing Reed injured. And he didn't; Reed was too precious to be hurt.

"Well, you are okay, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Reed's smile was bright but Shane had no idea how fake it was.

He didn't register that anything was wrong at all. "So where are you off to?"

"Oh," Reed said, glancing down to the canvas he was carrying. "The art building. I go there to paint sometimes, mainly when Kurt doesn't want a bunch of drying paint near his clothes."

"Oh yeah," Shane nodded with a smile. "The twins said you were an artist, but I haven't seen any of it yet. Can I come along?" There wasn't anything wrong with that. He just wanted to finally see some of Reed's art, like any _friend _would. Because that's what they were. Friends. And that's how they'd stay. And the sooner Shane got that through his thick skull, the better. "After that you can go back to helping me with all this," he gestured to the books in his arms.

He didn't notice how Reed's smile broke, and his eyes quickly glanced around them, searching for something. "Um." He knew Chase wouldn't find out if they kept to Windsor, but this wasn't Windsor. What if… But no, he never came by Reed's art room, not unless he wanted something. It was a rare occurrence but it had happened enough to make Reed quake with fear at the thought of Chase catching him with Shane there. He looked up to see Shane start to look worried. He wouldn't know what excuse to use if he told him no. He was kind of rubbish at making up excuses anyways. He quickly forced a smile on. "Sure."

Hopefully Chase didn't need anything today, and if he did Reed hoped he would just text or call. He could always lock the door too, and if Chase happened to drop by he would have enough time to make Shane hide in one of the closets. But if Chase caught him, the hiding would only make it seem like they were doing something worse than just talking, like they actually had something _to_ hide. And it didn't matter what Reed said, Chase would believe what he wanted to believe; and he would be furious. Reed started to shake, thinking about what he'd do. It would hurt so bad…

"Reed?" Shane's voice cut through the fantasies that had his eyes wide with fear and his body shivering, the cause for Shane's concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Reed snapped out of it and forced the smile back on. "Of course. Just follow me." The faster they got to the secluded room and locked the door, the better. It wouldn't exactly bode well for him if Chase came by and saw them talking together in broad daylight either.

He scurried away, walking so fast Shane had to run to catch up. He was grinning though, still unaware of how scared Reed was feeling just from being there.

When they finally got to the building, Reed slowed down, being careful on the stairs. He didn't need any more injuries.

Once they got to the correct door, Reed smiled for real. "So this is where I keep most of my paintings. You know the ones that aren't in use." He opened the door and let Shane step in first, shutting and locking the door after him.

Shane slammed his books on one of the counters before looking up to take in the room. He felt his jaw fall open as he looked over the countless canvases. The twins were right, Reed was truly incredible.

"You _painted _all these?" Some he could tell were paintings but some looked like photos, it depended on the style. There was so much color in the room, so much beauty he found it hard to believe it all came from one person.

Reed tried not to blush. "Um, yes. I really love to paint, even though I know I'm not the best –"

"Yes you are," Shane interrupted, finally looking away from the artwork to lock eyes with Reed. "You're phenomenal. The absolute best."

Now Reed was definitely blushing. "Oh. Thanks." He stared at his feet, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Why, don't you think you're good?"

Reed's eyebrows pulled together. He was having trouble thinking of an answer to that. "I guess…"

Shane was genuinely surprised. "Well you're not good, you're more than good. Like _way _more than good. Can't you see that?"

Reed blinked at the ground, there was an unwelcome flashback playing in his mind.

_Reed was biting his lip anxiously. He had finally finished the painting he had been perfecting for days. It was hard, drawing people the way he felt their personalities would look, but it was always worth it in the end. And he had done one for all of his friends, but Chase's had been the most work._

_It took the longest because he knew he had to get it perfect. He really wanted Chase to like it._

_The door to the art room finally opened and Chase walked in, looking mildly confused. "Alright, what is it you wanted me to come all the way here to see? It better be good." He sat down on a stool, watching Reed expectantly._

_Reed's smile was wide as he ran around to the other side of the canvas. "Okay, ready?"_

_Chase nodded and waved a couple times in a manner that said 'hurry up.'_

_Reed flipped the canvas over, displaying what he had been hard at work on for days. There was a lot of red, for some reason the color that Chase made him think of was red. It intertwined with darker shades of maroon and violet at just the right places, both swirling and straight._

_Chase looked it over for a second before looking back at Reed with a deadpan expression. "What is it?"_

_"It's you!" Reed explained in excitement. "I've been painting people by how I thought they're personalities would flow." He bit his lip again. "Do you like it?"_

_"I don't get it," Chase said, standing up. "How is that me? That doesn't make any sense."_

_Reed's smile fell. "Oh well… I don't know how to explain it…"_

_Chase's expression changed to one that said he was judging him, while still looking completely unimpressed. "Because it _doesn't _make any sense. This whole art thing is just stupid and quite frankly, I don't know why everyone thinks you're so good at it when you're not. You're mediocre at best, but probably not even that." He sneered at him with distaste, casting one last glance at the painting. "You're nothing special."_

_He walked out of the room at that, but Reed couldn't move. His heart had fallen into the pit of his stomach, and he could feel the lump in his throat aching every time he had to breathe. _

_Art always meant so much to him, it was the one thing he has always been sure of. It helped when he was feeling upset, angry, or even happy. It was something he could turn to, but being told his art wasn't special from the person that was most important to him felt like getting punched in the stomach._

_The tears started to fall then, and he gasped in a shuddering breath._

_Chase didn't even have to touch him to make him cry._

"Reed?" Shane called, waving a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Reed?" He had been staring at the ground for an abnormally long amount of time.

Reed's head snapped up. He tried to shake it off, but sometimes being hurt emotionally was so much worse than any pain a physical attack could bring. The words were what he'd remember long after the bruises had healed. "Um, sorry. What were you saying?"

Shane's expression showed he was now amused. "Don't you think you're good? Also you kind of space out a lot, have you noticed?"

There was humor in his voice but Reed felt a little panicked at what he said. He cursed himself in his head. He was going to have to stop being so careless. "Uh," he nervously laughed. "Yeah I guess I do." But he was thankful for the question, at least now he didn't have to answer the first one.

"So what are you working on in here?" Shane asked taking the time to look around the room in awe again. Reed used the distraction to let out a sigh of relief. He had to pull it together and stop worrying about everything.

"Oh you know, just another project for the class." He sat the canvas down so Shane could finally see it clearly. He squinted as he analyzed it and the complicated mix of color.

"Yeah, remind me to never take art. If this is a normal assignment I'd fail in one week."

Reed tried not to laugh. "I'm sure you're not that bad."

Shane fixed his skeptical gaze on Reed. "Want a bet?"

He started grinning and Reed had to raise any eyebrow at that. "I'm not sure…"

"No!" Shane jumped up, suddenly seeming very motivated. "This will be fun! Okay." He started gathering two blank canvases and easels. "Give me an inanimate object."

Reed stared at his outstretched hand blankly. "…Why?"

Shane huffed impatiently. "We're gonna see who can paint this…" He looked around the room thoughtfully, trying to find something that would work. Too bad there were no bowls of fake fruit hanging around. But he figured a pot of colorful flowers could work. "Vase of flowers better." He ran forward to grab it, setting it on the table across the room. "There now we have, let's say fifteen minutes to paint that. Whoever's painting it better is the winner."

Reed watched him run around incredulously. He had a small smile on his face by the end of it. "And what do we win?"

A thoughtful expression took place of Shane's excited one. "Uhhh…" He kind of hated himself for how much he had to fight the urge to say 'a kiss.' "Well I guess it depends on what you want because you're going to win no matter what."

Reed giggled. "You don't know that. And besides, I don't think I really want anything."

"I bet that's a lie. You're just too nice to ever tell people what it is you want. You're content with just taking whatever is thrown at you." Shane didn't noticed how much Reed's smile fell at that. He was still thinking. "What about the loser decides what the winner gets?"

He grinned and Reed had to force himself to forget about what he said before that. His mouth turned up. "That seems like a trap."

"Don't worry, I won't let your prize be anything humiliating," Shane said, innocently holding up his hands.

Eyeing him suspiciously, Reed couldn't bring himself to believe that. "You don't know I'm going to win! You could just as easily beat me."

Shane was now digging through a box of paints, pulling tubes up to squint at them in confusion. "That's a funny joke, Reed. Now what the hell does 'byzantine' mean?"

* * *

><p><p>

Shane tried, but really he already knew this was going to happen. He didn't even know which colors he was using until they were on the canvas, and there certainly weren't any gray flowers on that plant.

A couple of silent minutes had passed since they revealed their paintings to each other. Reed's was perfect of course, rushed even though they both exceeded the fifteen minute time limit. Shane's just looked like the mentally deficient cousin of Reed's painting. Shane didn't want to say he told him so but really… he did. He coughed awkwardly.

"So…what was that about me having a chance at winning?"

Reed couldn't help it, he laughed. Really hard. He hadn't laughed that hard in a really long time. Everything weighing on his mind just seemed to disappear. Shane watched him laugh with not at all discreet heart eyes. As the giggles died down he managed to mumble, "It's not that bad."

Now Shane was laughing. "Give it up, Reed. You may have won but you were wrong. Own up to it."

Reed shook his head, giggling again. "I'm serious!"

"So am I." Shane sat down on a stool in front of him. "So, almighty victor, what will it be? What's your prize?"

Biting his lip, Reed couldn't keep the smile off. "I don't know? I don't need a prize. I thought the loser decided anyways."

"Well, if you're sure you want _me _to pick it, then okay. If you say so." Shane grinned mysteriously, turning around to walk off.

Reed couldn't help but feel worried about that.

He didn't really get a lot of painting done after their little contest what with Shane wandering around the room, snooping through things and asking endless questions. He tried to do his own homework after he got bored of that but then that only brought up more questions for Reed. So by that time Reed just gave up completely and decided to help Shane with his instead, just like he agreed to do. They ended up staying there until it got dark and Reed was very grateful to receive no texts from Chase.

He double checked his phone as Shane packed up all his books and work, just making sure Chase didn't want anything. He got this far without getting caught, now that they were about to leave he wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

Being with Shane was oddly fun and stress relieving. He knew he had every right to be terrified while in his presence, and he always was at first. But for some reason being with Shane was relaxing. He didn't need to worry about something happening when he was with him. He wasn't sure how to describe what Shane made him feel, but he knew it was something he hadn't felt in so long.

He didn't consciously recognize the feeling he couldn't identify was 'safe.'

"Okay," Shane said standing up, drawing him out of his thoughts. His books were gathered in his arms as he made his way to stand in front of Reed, who stared up at him in confusion when he held them out to him. "These are for you."

Reed frowned. "My prize is carrying your books? This doesn't seem right. This seems like a loser's job. I feel gypped." He sounded amused despite the fact he didn't agree with this whole winner/loser scenario in the first place.

Shane laughed and dropped the books in Reed's waiting arms which quivered a little from the weight. He looked like he was having trouble holding them all. "You're not being gypped, don't worry."

Reed could only look at him in confusion for a few seconds before he squeaked, suddenly feeling the ground disappear from underneath him. He nearly dropped all the books, flailing in the arms he unexpectedly found himself in. "What are you doing!" The books fell against the stomach as his hands left to clutch onto Shane's shirt.

"You won, remember? So now your real prize is not having to walk back. I couldn't very well carry you and my books at the same time, could I?"

"You shouldn't be carrying me at all!" Reed's voice was still shrill and Shane tried not to notice how he was clinging to him. "Put me down!"

"No can do, victor. This is your prize now accept it." He started making his way to the door, ignoring Reed's scream of protest.

"Don't drop me!" he cried, clinging tighter now that they were actually moving.

Shane almost scoffed. "I would never drop you." He had successfully made it out the door and was almost to the steps. "Don't worry," he said when Reed whined upon noticing this. "You're not going to get hurt as long as I'm here."

Reed suddenly froze, forgetting about the stairs as his heart beat sped up. His head was a mash up of mixed and confused feelings, ones he didn't really want to understand even if he could.

It wasn't until they were out of the building that he forgot all about what Shane had said. Now that they were out in the open, even in the dark, his heart was beating fast for a whole other reason.

If Chase saw them walking together that would be bad enough. But if he found Shane carrying Reed _bridal style, _well. He didn't even want to imagine it.

He started thrashing around without warning. Fear was making his stomach tighten and his palms sweat. It was unlikely Chase would even be out here but he was so scared of the consequence he didn't even want to take the risk.

"Put me down!" He cried again, sounding much more panicked than before.

And Shane easily picked up on that. "What's wrong? I told you I wouldn't drop you. We made it down the stairs, didn't we? The worst part's over."

The worst part hadn't even happened yet. "Please!"

He sounded so sincerely scared Shane had no choice but to put him down. He didn't understand why he was looking and sounding so absolutely terrified, almost on the brick of tears. "Okay, okay, calm down. I'll let you down, okay?"

Reed relaxed enough to be put down gently, Shane taking the books from him as he did. "Are you okay?"

Reed sniffed a little, nodding as he wiped at invisible tears. He glanced around quickly, still looking scared. When he realized they were still completely alone he seemed to calm down.

Shane watched all this happen with a weird feeling swimming in his gut. "Are you sure?" He had no idea what just happened.

Reed drew in a shaking breath. "Yeah," he kept his eyes locked on his feet. "I'm sorry," he muttered before setting off towards Windsor, leaving Shane behind feeling guilty on top of everything else.

He didn't look back and Shane could only stand there and watch him go, trying to sort out what just happened. Reed was scared of being carried, which made sense because he didn't want to be dropped. But then he calmed down. Until they got outside. Then he completely freaked out. And Shane was desperately trying to figure out why. He felt awful for scaring Reed so badly, even if he didn't understand it. He also couldn't help but notice how he looked around, like he was afraid someone had seen them.

Maybe that was it. But Shane, for the life of him, couldn't understand why Reed would be scared of that. Nothing fit. So what if people saw them together? Shane would admit that carrying him like that did border on flirty but it wasn't that bad. Maybe Reed didn't want anyone to think they were that close. Maybe he didn't like him much at all.

Finally, he started the trip back to the house, feeling worse than ever.

* * *

><p><p>

Reed had already made it to his room by the time Shane got to Windsor, and he didn't see him for the rest of the night. Or the next morning. He was still feeling too guilty to go downstairs to see Reed before class. What would he say to him? Sorry for almost making you cry because I scared you half to death. He had never felt more like a dick.

The whole day seemed to pass excoriatingly slow with all the guilt on his mind. And he didn't see Reed once.

But Reed didn't know what to say to him either. Everything got too awkward. Unbearably awkward. He knew it was all his fault. If he didn't freak out like a baby then everything would still be fine. Chase never even found out.

He felt bad for causing all of the unnecessary tension with Shane but he really didn't have a time to apologize, or the right words. It was in the back of his mind all day no matter how much he wished he could just forget about it and move on. Shane really was sweet and he had a lot of fun with him, it wasn't fair that Reed had to ruin it for such a stupid reason.

"What's wrong with you today?" Chase's voice brought him out of his thoughts yet again. "You've been spacing out all day today. Are you even here right now?"

Reed stopped walking, pausing near that small garden path by the forgotten memorial that was halfway between Stuart and Windsor, the small path that no one ever really used. "Um, yeah." He answered, looking doing at his feet and not sounding very convincing.

Chase also paused, turning around to watch him with knitted eyebrows. "It doesn't seem like it. What have you been thinking about so intensely?"

Reed wasn't sure how to answer that. He couldn't tell the truth that was for sure. But he couldn't think of a believable lie either. And answering a nonchalant "nothing" would not work in the slightest when it came to Chase. He wouldn't let it go and that would only give him further reason to be suspicious. "Oh… you know…" he started, not really sure where he was going. Fortunately he didn't have to decide. A ringing from his pocket was a welcome distraction. "Sorry," he mumbled, giving a small apologetic smile before digging for his phone.

"Hello?" he answered, not noticing how Chase rolled his eyes and crossed his arms impatiently.

Kurt's voice greeted him. It was frantic and crying about stains and new Chanel. Reed bit his lip, trying not to laugh. A smile still poked through though, and he didn't notice Chase's expression turn even darker.

"Oh Kurt," a giggle slipped past. "It's okay, calm down. I'd be happy help you. Just –" he didn't get to finish his instruction because the next moment his phone was no longer by his ear. Chase had stepped forward and snatched it out of his hand without warning. Reed didn't even get a syllable out, only having enough time to turn and look at him in confusion before he saw his phone leave Chase's hand too. It was thrown toward the brick wall with force, shattering into a least three different pieces that all flew in opposite directions upon impact.

"Hey!" Reed squeaked with a dropped jaw. His voice sounded kind of angry. "That's my phone! Why would you do that!" His eyes left the wall to look at Chase. As soon as he saw his expression he instantly wished he wouldn't have said anything. The look in his eyes made Reed's knees shake and his stomach flip with nerves.

"I was talking to you," Chase all but growled, his eyes turning stony.

Reed's legs shook harder. "I-it was just Kurt," he mumbled in a pathetic attempt to excuse himself.

Chase only looked more angered by this. He stepped the short distance forward until he was close enough to grab Reed's upper arms painfully tight. He didn't even have time to cry out before the earth was moved from under his feet. When his back crashed into the brick wall, he screamed. The strength behind the action had his already previously bruised back throbbing sharply. His spine ached from the contact with the rough bricks, like the thin skin above the bone had broken, and wetness seeping through his shirt all but confirmed this. He gasped and the expansion of his lungs made the pain intensify.

"I don't give a fuck!" Chase yelled as soon as Reed hit the wall with a crack. One of his hands moved from around Reed's arm to lock around his throat, squeezing tightly. "Your attention should be on me, not _Kurt. _Understand?"

Reed nodded quickly, feeling tears start to leak out as it became harder to breathe. Chase squeezed tighter to lock in his message before letting Reed fall painfully to the sidewalk below.

Reed gasped, taking in another lungful of air, ignoring how his back ached in response. He rubbed at his neck, pulling himself up weakly. His legs still quivered, even worse than before. He held a hand against the wall he had just been thrown on, catching his breath and calming down. His swimming eyes looked up at Chase expressionlessly. And then he did something he never did whenever something like this happened. He walked away.

* * *

><p><p>

The door to Windsor flew open and Reed strode in, keeping his head held high. He tried to ignore the stinging in his eyes and the pain in his back. This was the first time he had been truly mad at Chase. And it wasn't even about him hurting him, he knew that was his own fault. But what right did he have to destroy his phone. Now how was he supposed to get in touch with people, with his mom?

He entered the common room, still trying to keep his mind clear, just to run into another problem. Shane. He froze. Great, this day couldn't get any better.

Shane stared at him with wide eyes that didn't blink. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

He figured Shane didn't know what to say, or even how to move. Sighing in defeat, he broke the silence. "Hi, Shane."

Shane seemed to blink out of it. "Um, hi." He started to nervously wipe his hands on his pants. "Uh, look. I'm so, _so _sorry for what happened yesterday. That was so stupid and invasive of me and I'm really sorry I scared you. I swear I didn't mean to."

Reed chewed on the inside of his lip, feeling worse. Shane didn't even know what happened. He was feeling bad for nothing. This was Reed's fault. "No. Don't apologize. I overreacted. It just…" He trailed off, not sure how to explain when he couldn't tell the truth. "Was so sudden and…"

"Inappropriate." Shane finished for him even though that's not what Reed was going to say. "And I'm _really_ sorry about it. We were having such a good day and then I screwed it up."

"No, you didn't." Reed started to smile. "And it was fun. So don't worry about it."

Shane smiled a little in return, looking at his shuffling feet like he was suddenly shy. "So can we just forget that last part of the day happened?"

Reed nodded, his smile growing. He didn't feel angry anymore. What Chase did had almost left his mind entirely. "Sure."

As he started to go up the stairs, chatting with Shane who was following, he was relieved he was still wearing his blazer. That way Shane couldn't see the dots of blood that soaked through his white button down.

* * *

><p><p>

"Chase keeps calling for you," Kurt said as soon as Reed entered his room that night. His tutoring session with Shane had just ended and he planned on showering before bed. "I don't know why he keeps calling _my _phone." There was unmistakable irritation in Kurt's voice.

"I do," Reed said after discreetly rolling his eyes. Of course Chase was doing this. "My phone broke."

"Oh, how did that happen?" Kurt asked as he rifled through the numerous text messages Chase has sent him. He only replied once, a simple, "Reed's not here and no I don't know where he went." But that didn't stop Chase from asking every freaking ten minutes if he was back yet.

Reed clammed up. There was no way he could tell the truth. "I dropped it on the sidewalk earlier. So it's kind of in pieces right now."

Kurt sighed. He couldn't be upset about that. "Okay, I'm sorry about that. Do you want to call him back?"

Reed turned his back to him, gathering up some pajamas. "Not particularly."

Kurt's eyebrows raised in mild shock. "Really? What happened? Did you guys have a fight?" That would explain the hefty amount of text messages and phone calls.

Once again, Reed had to pause and think about it. He couldn't tell the truth, but then again he really couldn't say there wasn't anything wrong because Kurt would start in on how Chase was too possessive of him by calling his phone this much. At least this gave him an excuse to have done that.

"Sort of…" he shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. He finally turned back around, ready to head to the bathroom. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Kurt held up his hands, "Understood." He tried to look like he found no joy in hearing this, but on the inside he was kind of smiling. He sincerely didn't want Reed to get hurt, but he thought he could do much better than Chase. There was still something about him that made his eyes narrow, and if they were fighting then maybe it was finally time the relationship ended. But he didn't want to get his hopes up.

Reed smiled at him weakly before turning and disappearing into their bathroom.

* * *

><p><p>

Undressing wasn't a particularly difficult task, but when you were this clumsy it could be daunting to see so many bruises and marks littering your body. Especially when you knew that the majority of them had nothing to do with your coordination.

Reed was careful to keep his thoughts blank as he removed layer after layer of clothing. He pretended not to be annoyed at the fact his white button down would need to be washed carefully with bleach…again. He pretended not to feel the stinging on his back that gave the shirt a need to be washed in the first place. He pretended that moving even in the simplest of ways didn't make his muscles ache. Most of all he pretended that it wasn't his own body he was staring at in the mirror, standing only in boxers.

He didn't want to see any of the marks on his arms from hands that grabbed on too tightly. He didn't want to see the purple on his stomach from fists that hit with such force it knocked the breath from his lungs. He didn't want to see the scratches that traveled down his spine or the bruises on the back of his legs that disappeared into the hem of his boxers, both a result of being thrown down and into things.

And he most definitely didn't want to see the cut on his lip or the bruise on his face. Because if he could see those then that meant everyone else could too. He could try to hide it from himself, but everyone else? He didn't think they would be fooled so easily.


End file.
